Chapter 15:Tarot Cards

Meng Xian sat comfortably on the sofa, her legs curled up beneath her as she leaned forward, the coffee table between her and Zhou Mingrui serving as the battleground for their intense Uno game.

Zhou Mingrui, sitting cross-legged on the floor, had his head resting on her lap, his brows furrowed in concentration. Both of their expressions were solemn, the kind that would be more fitting for a game of chess than a simple card game.

"Uno!" Meng Xian declared with a triumphant grin, placing her final card on the table with a flourish.

Zhou Mingrui grumbled under his breath, his eyes narrowing in mock irritation. He knew what was coming next. With a smirk that hinted at mischief, he reached into his hand of cards, pulling out his trump card—a Plus Four.

He slammed it onto the coffee table with a sense of finality, leaning back with a victorious grin. "How about that?"

Meng Xian raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Ooh? A Plus Four?" she mused, tilting her head slightly as if she were contemplating her next move.

Then, with a smirk that mirrored his, she reached for her remaining card and placed it on top of his with a soft thud.

Another Plus Four.

Zhou Mingrui's mouth fell open in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me…"

Meng Xian's smirk widened into a full-blown grin, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"Hahaha! I win again, Zhou!" she declared, her voice brimming with satisfaction.

If Zhou Mingrui's initial loss could be blamed on carelessness, the second defeat stung a bit more and third and fourth defeat. He had given it his all this time, yet he still couldn't best her.

He couldn't help but suspect foul play. "Are you cheating? How do you always win?" His tone was half-serious, half-joking.

"Nope, I'm just really good at this game,"

Meng Xian replied, her voice laced with playful arrogance. "But the point is, I've won four out of five games."

Her teasing was light, but there was an undeniable joy in her tone, the kind that comes from reveling in a small, personal victory.

Zhou Mingrui couldn't help but smile at her delight, even though he was the one on the losing end. Seeing Meng Xian so happy and carefree was worth every loss.

"Alright, alright, I'm willing to admit defeat,"

Zhou Mingrui sighed dramatically, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. His eyes lingered on Meng Xian's face, her smile infectious, filling him with warmth despite his losses. But then, his mind drifted back to the wager they had made earlier, and his heart sank a little.

Now, here came the consequence. The punishment.

Meng Xian's grin turned devious as she reached for a red pencil, her eyes gleaming with mischievous intent. "Now, let me put some cute drawings on your face," she announced, twirling the pencil between her fingers.

Earlier, Zhou Mingrui had thought this would be a fun way to bond with Meng Xian. The idea had come to him in a moment of inspiration: play Uno, and the loser gets their face decorated with silly drawings. Meng Xian had eagerly agreed to the terms, and they had dived into the game with enthusiasm.

But now, as he sat there facing defeat after defeat, Zhou Mingrui realized that his plan had backfired spectacularly. With every loss, his face was becoming a canvas for Meng Xian's artistic whims, and at this rate, he'd be walking around with a face full of doodles all day.

This won't do, Zhou Mingrui thought to himself, a sense of urgency creeping in.

He needed to find a way to divert Meng Xian's attention, and fast. Otherwise, with her current mood, she'd keep drawing on his face until he was unrecognizable.

The quickest way to divert someone's attention is to find them something else to focus on. But what could he do?

He racked his brain for a solution, and suddenly, an idea popped into his head—a memory from earlier this year that he had almost forgotten.

He recalled the embarrassing experience during Chinese New Year when he had visited his hometown. One evening, he had gone to the night market with his parents and stumbled upon a fortune-telling stall run by an elderly Taoist priest.

The stall had been elaborately decorated, and with the price being only one dollar per fortune, he had decided to give it a try for fun.

As he sat down for his fortune, the old priest's demeanor changed dramatically. Halfway through the reading, the priest's eyes welled up with tears, and he began shouting grandiose phrases like "Son of Destiny" and "Aura of a King," attracting a crowd of curious onlookers. Zhou Mingrui had been mortified, especially when the priest refused to let go of him, insisting on selling him a deck of tarot cards.

To escape the situation, Zhou Mingrui had begrudgingly paid for the cards and quickly fled the scene.

He still remembered how his father had teased him afterward, declaring, "My son Mingrui has the potential to be an emperor!" Zhou Mingrui had turned beet red with embarrassment while his parents laughed heartily, his mother even snapping a photo of his flustered expression.

That deck of tarot cards had been tossed into his luggage and forgotten, buried in the corner of his desk drawer once he returned to work. He hadn't even bothered to open the packaging, let alone use them. But now, those tarot cards could be his saving grace.

"Meng, wait a moment," Zhou Mingrui said suddenly, springing to his feet. Without giving her a chance to react, he dashed to the bathroom and quickly washed his face, removing the remnants of her earlier drawings.

He then hurried to his room, pulled open the desk drawer, and rummaged around until his fingers brushed against the dusty box of tarot cards.

Peeling off the plastic wrap with a sense of urgency, Zhou Mingrui grabbed the cards and hurried back to the living room.

He returned to the coffee table with a determined expression, holding the deck of tarot cards like a prized possession.

"Meng Xian," he said, sitting back down across from her, "let's play tarot divination!"

Meng Xian, who had been caught off guard by his sudden disappearance, looked up at him in surprise. Her playful demeanor faded, replaced by a simple and natural expression.

Meng Xian's lips trembled slightly as she picked up the Tarot cards. The weight of their symbolism in the world of "Lord of Mysteries" was not lost on her. Each card was more than a simple tool for divination; they represented the pathways to godhood, the twenty-two paths of the divine.

She couldn't help but feel a strange mixture of anticipation and trepidation as she handed the cards to Zhou Mingrui.

"Okay," she finally said, her voice soft yet steady.

Zhou Mingrui, sensing her hesitation, couldn't help but flash a reassuring smile.

He had dabbled in Tarot during his college years, back when he was chasing the elusive affections of a girl who was deeply into all things esoteric.

Though that love had fizzled out, his interest in Tarot lingered like the remnants of a fading dream. Now, he channeled that old knowledge, hoping to distract Meng Xian from her victory streak.

"What do you want to predict?" he asked, adopting the tone of a seasoned fortune teller, as if trying to mask his lack of recent practice.

Meng Xian, remembering the scene from the original "Lord of Mysteries," mimicked the protagonist's request. "Past, present, and future," she said, her voice carrying an air of quiet resolve.

Zhou Mingrui nodded, his lips curling up into what he hoped was a professional smile. "Alright, let's begin then…"

"Wait," Meng Xian's voice cut through the air, halting him mid-motion. Her tone was soft yet firm, filled with a quiet intensity that caught him off guard. "I changed my mind.

Don't look at the past. Only the present and future. And... only use the twenty-two Major Arcana cards."

Zhou Mingrui blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift. Her request was specific, almost as if she was afraid of what might be uncovered if they delved into the past. He hesitated for a moment, then grumbled under his breath, "Is there even a spread like that?"

But seeing the determined look in her eyes, he relented. After all, this was just a game to distract her, to bring a little light-heartedness into their evening. There was no need to stick to formalities.

He sifted through the deck, separating the twenty-two Major Arcana cards from the rest. They felt heavier in his hands than he remembered, as if they held the weight of unseen forces.

With a deep breath, he handed the stack to Meng Xian. "If I'm reading first, then you shuffle the cards."

Meng Xian nodded slightly, her fingers brushing against his as she took the cards. There was a moment of stillness as she held the deck, her eyes closed in concentration.

Then, with deliberate care, she began to shuffle. The soft rustle of the cards against each other was the only sound in the room, creating a rhythm that seemed to match the steady beating of their hearts.

When she was done, she cut the deck and placed it back on the coffee table between them. "Shall I lay out the cards, too?" she asked, her voice tinged with a hint of vulnerability.

Zhou Mingrui nodded. "Yes, go ahead."

With another deep breath, Meng Xian began placing the first card on his left, and the second on his right. Her movements were fluid, almost ritualistic, as if she was performing an ancient ceremony rather than a simple card game.

"This one is 'Now,'" she said, indicating the card on his left. "And this is 'The Future.'"

Her eyes met his, searching for any sign of hesitation, but finding none. "Which one do you want to see first?"

There was no need for hesitation. "Now," Zhou Mingrui replied.

Without any further delay, Meng Xian flipped over the card on his left. For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath as they both gazed at the image before them.

The card depicted a girl dancing gracefully within a laurel wreath. The four corners of the wreath were guarded by a lion, an eagle, an angel, and a sacred bull, each representing one of the fixed signs of the zodiac. The girl held a magic wand in each hand, symbols of power and balance. She was the epitome of harmony and completion, standing at the threshold of triumph.

Meng Xian's voice was barely above a whisper as she read the title. "The World… upright."

Zhou Mingrui's curiosity was piqued as he pulled out his phone to look up the meaning of the card. "Let's see what the reading says…"

He quickly found the information online "The World card," he began, reading aloud, "signifies achievement, fulfillment, and the realization of one's goals. It is a symbol of permanent and lasting victory. You've reached the end of one journey and stand ready to embark on another. All that's left is to walk through the door of victory and claim your reward."

He paused, letting the words sink in. "In its upright position, it represents success, the fulfillment of a lifelong goal, and the promise of rich rewards for hard work. In love, it suggests a relationship built on mutual commitment, destined to thrive."

He looked up from his phone, his eyes locking onto hers. "This card… it's pretty amazing, isn't it?"

Meng Xian's gaze lingered on the card, her expression unreadable. "Yes," she murmured, almost to herself, "it's very good."

She couldn't help but feel the significance of the card. It was as if the universe was telling her that, despite all the uncertainties and challenges she had faced, she was on the right path, that she was close to achieving something truly meaningful. But what was that something? She couldn't yet tell.

With a small nod, she flipped over the second card, the one that represented the future. The atmosphere in the room seemed to shift, charged with anticipation. Zhou Mingrui leaned forward slightly, holding his breath as the image on the card was revealed…

Zhou Mingrui's breath caught in his throat as the card was revealed—a young man dressed in colorful, ornate clothing, carrying a staff with a bundle slung over his shoulder, a small dog at his heels. The image was bright, almost cheerful, but there was something unsettling about it in this context.

"The Fool," Meng Xian said, her voice barely audible, as if the words themselves carried too much weight. "The zero card of the Tarot, the one that contains all possible beginnings."

Zhou Mingrui's earlier excitement dimmed as he sensed the shift in the atmosphere. He quickly searched the meaning of the card, trying to find something positive to say. "It represents travel, new journeys, a fresh start… It's a card full of potential and possibility." His voice was hopeful, but there was a note of uncertainty.

Meng Xian, however, seemed lost in her thoughts. The combination of The World and The Fool… 

Zhou Mingrui noticed her silence and leaned in closer, his earlier playfulness completely gone. "Meng, are you okay?" he asked softly, concern evident in his tone.

She blinked, snapping back to the present moment. "Yes, I'm fine," she replied, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's just… those cards together, they're… interesting."

He studied her for a moment, not entirely convinced but unwilling to push her. "It's your turn now," he said gently, hoping to bring back some of the light-heartedness from earlier. "Let's see what the cards say about you."

Zhou Mingrui, feeling the weight of the moment, took the deck of Tarot cards from her. His hands, though once familiar with the cards, now moved with a practiced ease that masked the years since he had last handled them.

"I'm going to start laying out my cards," he said, his tone a mix of nostalgia and nervous excitement. His method mirrored Meng Xian's: he drew the first and second cards from the top of the deck. However, when he reached for the second card, his hand slipped, and he inadvertently picked up the third card as well.

He glanced at Meng Xian, a look of apology on his face. "Sorry about that," he began, reaching to correct his mistake and put the third card back.

But before he could move, Meng Xian's hand gently pressed down on the card, stopping him. Her gaze was calm, almost serene, as she spoke. "Since it was an accident in destiny divination, let's make the best of it. Maybe an accident is also a predetermined fate."

Zhou Mingrui hesitated, then shrugged with a soft smile. "Uh, okay then."

So, before them lay a card representing the present and two cards representing the future. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation as Meng Xian looked at the spread of cards, her curiosity piqued.

"Do you want to look first?" Zhou Mingrui asked.

Meng Xian's response was quiet but firm. "Now."

With a steady hand, Zhou Mingrui turned over the first Tarot card.

The image revealed a lobster emerging from the water, drawn towards a pair of tall towers in the distance under a bright moonlight. The lobster had to choose between the two towers, one of which was the only path to meet the moon goddess. Nearby, a wolf and a hunting dog, distracted by the moon goddess, failed to notice the lobster's approach.

"The Moon, upright," Zhou Mingrui announced, his voice carrying a hint of reverence.

He quickly pulled out his phone and accessed the Google Encyclopedia of Tarot cards, skimming through the entry for the Moon. His voice took on a more somber tone as he began to read. "The original meaning of the Moon card is uneasiness."

Meng Xian's body tensed slightly, a shiver of concern running through her. Zhou Mingrui continued, oblivious to the effect his words were having on her.

"This card represents confusion, distress, and uneasiness," he said. "The lobster's journey symbolizes the reliance on the old world, while the dog and wolf represent fear and the unknown."

Zhou Mingrui's tone grew more subdued as he elaborated. "The moon is a bridge to the spiritual world, waxing and waning. It symbolizes change and the balance between joy and the apprehension of misfortune.

The upright position signifies restlessness, confusion, and deception. In your career, you might feel unsatisfied, striving to unlock your full potential.

Emotionally, you could be very sensitive, fearing potential hurt."

His voice trailed off, and he laughed awkwardly, the sound lacking its usual confidence. "Um… I don't think this is very accurate," he said, his laughter thin and strained.

Meng Xian's eyes lingered on the card depicting the Moon, its unsettling imagery creating a heavy pause in the room. The card's dark, ambiguous message seemed to resonate with the uncertainty she felt in her own life. She nodded, signaling to move on.

"Let's look at the next one. The future."

Zhou Mingrui, keen to shift the mood, set aside the Moon card with a quick flick of his wrist and reached for the card representing the future. With a deliberate motion, he turned it over, revealing its intricate design.

The card displayed The High Priestess—a figure of serene authority and mystery.

Dressed in a flowing white inner robe that symbolized purity and a deep blue outer robe reminiscent of the Virgin Mary, the High Priestess sat in quiet contemplation. She held an open book, its pages seemingly filled with untold secrets. Behind her, a curtain partially concealed the view, hinting at hidden realms beyond. The background, composed of calm water and a tranquil blue sky, suggested a deeper, unseen depth.

Zhou Mingrui's gaze softened as he took in the card's symbolism. He quickly navigated to the entry for The High Priestess in the tarot card directory, his fingers brushing over the screen with practiced ease.

"The High Priestess," he began, his voice carrying a note of renewed confidence, "represents wisdom and inner knowing. It's associated with the moon, and the card suggests tapping into a deep, mysterious potential within oneself."

He paused, letting the words settle in the air. "This card indicates that your future holds significant changes. It suggests that you are well-positioned to handle what's coming, with a wealth of knowledge at your disposal.

Your judgment will remain calm and objective, and your persistence will help you maintain high standards, even in the face of external pressures."

As he read the interpretation, Zhou Mingrui's own relief was palpable. The message was a stark contrast to the Moon card's ominous tone, offering a glimmer of hope and clarity.

He glanced up at Meng Xian, who had been silently absorbing the information. Her expression was a mix of contemplation and cautious optimism.

As Zhou Mingrui turned over the card he had accidentally slipped, he was met with an unsettling image

The card depicted a man suspended upside down, his hands and ankles bound, dangling from what appeared to be a tree branch. An angelic halo hovered faintly above his head.

The image was stark and evocative, immediately drawing a reaction from Zhou Mingrui.

"The Hanged Man," he said, his voice tinged with hesitation. Even though he hadn't studied the tarot cards extensively, the card's symbolism was clear to him. It spoke of self-sacrifice and enduring hardship with a resigned sense of peace.

"The Hanged Man represents self-sacrifice," he continued, trying to maintain his composure. "Although the figure is in a painful situation, he has a serene expression because he understands the purpose of his suffering.

This card suggests that even the direst circumstances are ultimately tests. It indicates a temporary pause in your career or life, but it's important to recognize the reasons behind it."

He paused, searching for the right words to convey the depth of the card's message. "It encourages patience, acceptance of fate, and a reflection on past experiences. It's about reserving strength and preparing for a rebirth and resurgence."

Zhou Mingrui glanced at Meng Xian, expecting to see a reaction of discomfort or unease, but was taken aback by her response.

A low, melodious laugh escaped Meng Xian's lips. It was not a mocking or defeated laugh but one that seemed to carry a sense of release and clarity. Her laughter was genuine, and it resonated with a kind of tranquility that Zhou Mingrui hadn't anticipated.

Meng Xian's eyes sparkled with an intensity that was both captivating and unsettling. She swept the Minor Arcana cards she had previously set aside into a neat pile, then began to build a card tower on the coffee table.

The construction was methodical and precise. She arranged the cards into small triangles, each layer decreasing in size as it ascended, forming a delicate pyramid structure with six layers.

The sight of the intricate pyramid was mesmerizing. Each card seemed perfectly aligned, contributing to the stability of the structure. Meng Xian's hands moved with a careful grace, her fingers deftly placing each card in its place. The pyramid took shape, standing as a testament to her focus and patience.

Once the tower was complete, Meng Xian extended her hand and gently flicked the top triangle. The entire structure wobbled for a moment before collapsing in a cascade of tarot cards. The sight of the cards tumbling and scattering across the table was both dramatic and poignant.

Through the fluttering chaos of the falling cards, Zhou Mingrui saw Meng Xian raise her gaze to meet his. Her dark eyes locked onto his with an unblinking intensity. Her expression was calm, yet there was an undercurrent of something deeper—perhaps a reflection of the card's message or a quiet madness that lay beneath her composed exterior.

The moment was charged with a profound silence. Zhou Mingrui could feel the weight of her gaze, and the room seemed to hold its breath. The collapse of the card tower mirrored the emotional upheaval and clarity that Meng Xian seemed to be experiencing.

Finally, Meng Xian broke the silence with a soft, almost reverent tone. "It's strange, isn't it? How even in the midst of chaos, there's a certain beauty and clarity."